Palestinian art in Madrid and Cordoba despite the war
Neither Hamas is Palestine nor the Palestinians are terrorists. This is a fundamental distinction, not always respected by the media, whose errors in this regard can mislead public opinion into a harmful amalgamation. It is therefore commendable that Casa Árabe has decided to maintain in its exhibition halls in Madrid and Cordoba the exhibition dedicated to fifteen Palestinian artists, young talents who make up a new generation which, let us hope, will not go to waste!
The title of the exhibition is "Tadafuq", which means flowing, in reference to the flow of creativity emanating from this new generation of Palestinian artists. The exhibition features Gazan artists such as Amal al-Nakhala, Mahmoud Alhaj, Shereen Abdelalkareem, Moayed Abu Ammouna and Rehaf Batniji; others from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, such as Nour Elayan, Dua Omari, Lara Salous, Saja Quttaineh, Hiba G. Isleem and Christina Qahoush. They are joined by artists emerging from the diaspora, such as Michael Jabareen, Motasem Siam, Fuad Alymani and Myssa Daher.
It is clear, as they all state, that their common denominator is the impetus of their resistance in the face of an oppressive context. From there, each uses their own artistic language, what the exhibition curator, Nicolás Combarro, describes as multidisciplinary narratives, to express the complex circumstances they face as individuals and as a collective.
The diversity of contemporary Palestinian creation is manifested not only in the different regions from which they originate, but also in the fertile artistic diaspora, which remains exceptionally active outside the Palestinian territories. It should also be noted that this project is part of the European programme known as European Spaces of Culture, promoted by the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem, the French Institute in Palestine and the British Council in the Occupied Territories.
The works of these fifteen artists, selected from among more than a hundred candidates, share the same need to tell, to be told, to confront omission and hypocrisy. The generosity, sincerity, wit and poetry of their stories also constitute an action against oblivion.
These are turbulent times, times of war, with its dramas and tragedies, which will inevitably affect these artists as well as their compatriots, and thus all of us, at least in the global reach of their effects. But beyond this tragic era, there will remain the mark of art, of culture, after all, a universal language that transcends time and the miseries that have befallen them (us).